The invention relates to a tumble-dryer which is of modular construction and comprises a process air guide in which a first air conducting element can be installed for forming a condensation dryer or a second air conducting element for forming an extraction air dryer.
The term “process air guide” covers both a closed process air circuit and an open process air guide. In the case of an extraction air dryer this process air guide is open and the process air is fed into the open after contact with the washing. In the case of a condensation dryer or a circulating air dryer the process air guide is closed and the process air is guided in a closed process air circuit. The process air guide will, in particular, include in the following all the air ducts and components through which process air flows in operation.
DE 42 20 534 A1 discloses a tumble-dryer which can be designed according to both dryer principles that are fundamentally of prior art, namely as a condensation dryer or as an extraction air dryer. If the dryer is designed as a condensation dryer a heat exchanger is arranged in the lower region of the dryer, and if it is designed as an extraction air dryer an air guide is arranged in the lower region, which guide discharges process air via the back of the dryer to the surrounding area. The different designs of this dryer of prior art are conceived independently of each other and have, particularly in the case of the heat exchanger for the condensation dryer and the air guide for the extraction air dryer, very different components which deviate from each other in size and shape. It is therefore also necessary for the further elements of the dryer must be designed differently according to these different variants.